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18 THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2007 2 Main St. N Acton 519-853-4299 Hats Off to all 2007 Grads Tel: (519) 853-0150 Fax: (519) 853-0176 Toll Free: 1-800-294-6886 15 MILL STREET WEST, ACTON CONGRATULATIONS! Congratulations all 2007 Grads! Best wishes for your future! From The Hot Dog Lady Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette and Council wish to congratulate all 2007 Graduates SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS WANTED NOW TRAINING FOR FALL 2007 mini van, mini bus & full size bus runs available Call today for more information about our FREE job training... Tyler Transport Limited (519) 853-1550 Congratulations to the Graduates from the staff at Leathertown Lumber 264 Main St. N. 853-1970 Acton Acton Mews Plaza, 56D Mill St. East, Acton 519-853-0811 Hair Salon SILVERCREEK SPA & Lots of luck in the future From Monica & Yvette Congratulations At its June 19, 2007 Reg- ular Board Meeting, the Halton Catholic District School Board approved budget estimates for 2007- 2008 of $235.5 million for submission to the Ministry of Education, in accordance with Ministry requirements. The operating expendi- ture estimates of $217.4 million and capital expendi- tures of $18.1 million have been matched with revenue projections to produce a balanced budget for the 2007-2008 academic year. This represents a 6.1% in- crease over the 2006-2007 revised estimates. In order to achieve a bal- anced 2007-2008 budget it was necessary to use $2.3 million of the Classroom Reserve Funds, explains Director of Education, Lou Piovesan. However, de- spite the ongoing budget challenges, we were able to achieve a balanced bud- get without cuts in any of the Boards operational areas. This status quo, compliance budget refl ects modest staff increases due to enrolment and the opening in September, 2007 of our two new Catholic elementary schools St. Christopher in Burlington and St. Anthony of Padua in Milton and fl at-lines non-salary and non-benefit expenditures at 2006-2007 levels except for known non-discretionary items such as utilities. The overall increase in enrolment projected by the Board for the 2007-2008 school year and the staffing requirements are reflected in the budget, which provides for an increase in classroom spending of approximately 6.5%. As a result of realloca- tions within the budget combined with other Pro- vincial Grants and Other Revenues, the following ini- tiatives will be implemented in the 2007-2008 school year: additional primary teachers to comply with the Ministrys Primary Class Size Reduction require- ment to reduce the average class size for the primary grades (Junior Kindergar- ten-Grade 3) down to 20:1 for the 2007-2008 school year; additional Itinerant Literacy and Numeracy teachers; the continued ex- pansion of the instrumental music program at three ad- ditional elementary schools; the introduction of three new secondary programs Arts & Culture, Primary Industries/Landscaping and a Health Care Assistant program; the expansion of the elementary robotics program; acquisition of new revised resources for the Family Life program (Grades 2 and 3); additional Special Education Resource Teachers (SERTs) to address the new elementary schools and the expanded identified populations across the sys- tem at both the elementary and secondary level; ad- ditional itinerant part-time staff to support the Daily Physical Activity program; Summer Writing Teams (science and curriculum maps); an increase in part- time staffing in Printing Services and an increase in funding of the Boards Technology Plan (i.e. acqui- sition of computers for the classroom). Although education fund- ing recognizes that school boards need flexibility to decide how best to allocate resources within the budget that is set by the board, there are restrictions set by the Ministry on how school boards may use certain components of their allo- cation. School boards will continue to report, as in past years, how all the funding is used and the extent to which this funding has been used for special education, classroom expenditures, new pupil places and school renewal, administration and governance and distant schools. It is expected that there will be ongoing budget challenges in the 2008-2009 fiscal year as the current four-year teacher salary framework expires on Au- gust 31, 2008. As a result, the Board will continue to monitor expenditures closely and undertake a review of expenditures in light of available funding allocations to address the projected 2008-2009 finan- cial challenges. Halton Catholic School Board approves budget